Spiders embraced the beauty and diversity of life in two recent photo contests. From a line of travelers crossing the Sahara by camelback to a mischievous racoon peeking out of a tree near Westhampton Lake, the winning photos cover vast terrain.

Biology Photo/Art Contest

Student Charlie Lanning won first place for his photo, “Nile Crocodile,” captured while on a philanthropic trip to Zimbabwe. While visiting a crocodile sanctuary in Victoria Falls, he spotted a large reptile peeking at him through the murky waters.

“Looking back, I was probably a little too close to the crocodile — we were only about 5 feet apart and separated by a chain link fence,” he said.

Daniel Garay’s “Watcher on the Wall” depicts a white-winged dove resting along a concrete wall in Juigalpa, a small town in Nicaragua where he spent his childhood.

“What immediately draws the eye is the bird's vivid red iris ringed by the cobalt blue skin, a reminder that some of nature's most striking adaptations belong not to the rare or exotic but to the creatures living quietly alongside us every day,” Garay said.

Garay received an honorable mention, as did Caroline Shelley for her photo, “Grand Prismatic Spring.” The three top photographs will join past winners on a gallery wall near the biology and chemistry offices in the Gottwald Center for the Sciences. Biology professor Amy Treonis and administrative assistant Emily Phaup co-organize the contest which is in its fifth year.

Global Spiders Photo Contest

Eight winners were selected from among the 140 students, faculty, staff, and alums who entered the Center for Global Engagement’s 15th annual competition.

“Our contest brings out the best photographs from our Spider community and encourages people to reflect on their travel experiences and how they choose to hold their memories,” said Lucy Northrup, CGE’s associate director of communications and events.

Jasmine Lin captured “Dawn in the Sahara” while abroad in Morocco with the School for International Training’s climate change program. After a week of learning about agriculture and water use in Ouarzazate, she and other participants spent the night at a campsite, laying on the sand and looking at stars over the vast, beautiful desert.

“I snapped the photo on camelback while riding out early the next day when I saw another group of tourists being led out from the campsite. It was hard to take the photo because the camel was constantly bobbing up and down, but I'm super happy with the way it turned out,” Lin said.